The Loneliest Zoo Elephant in the World Is Moving to a Sanctuary

Thanks to activists around the world, including singer Cher’s charity Free the Wild, Kaavan will be moved to an animal sanctuary in Siem Reap, Cambodia, today where he will finally be able to interact with other elephants. There are currently three female elephants at the sanctuary.

Martin Bauer, spokesperson for Four Paws, the charity that has been fighting to rescue Kaavan since 2016, told NPR, “Transferring an adult elephant on a plane is something very, very rare. An elephant transfer by plane on this scale I think has never happened before, so we are writing history here.”

The transfer has also been made possible by the Islamabad High Court ruling back in May, which determined that the animals at the Marghazar Zoo were being kept in cruel conditions and the zoo needed to be closed.

For three months before his departure to Cambodia, Kaavan received much-needed veterinary care for his dire physical and psychological conditions.

“The goal is to socialize him,” said Bauer, “It will take a while because he has lived on his own for such a long time. But yes, ultimately the goal is to bring him together with other animals because that’s what elephants want. They’re herd animals, they always form families, and that’s also what we plan for him.”